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Monday, March 14, 2011

Homemade Peppermint Patties

In my mind, the ultimate combination of flavors is chocolate and mint. My own personal heaven would be made entirely of mint and chocolate. I love peppermint patties. (As well as mint chocolate chip ice cream, mint frosting on brownies, and any other combination of those two exquisite flavors.) Unfortunately, it seems that the locals have not yet discovered this divine flavor (though they have discovered bubble gum flavored ice cream). Peppermint patties, therefore, have to be imported from other countries, upping their prices and environmental impact, and even with that, they're not so easy to find. In addition to all that, like nearly all processed foods, the ingredient list usually contains all sorts of chemicals that I wouldn't want to be feeding my family. Fortunately, I've learned how to make my own peppermint patties, that, while not the epitome of health, are still a far cry from the insane amount of chemicals that are listed among the ingredients of the store bought goodies, and are loads cheaper to boot. Don't worry- they still taste just as good!

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Ingredients:
1 small potato, or equivalent amount of mashed potatoes
A lot of powdered sugar (I can't give a precise amount, but keep a few pounds on hand just in case)- you can make your own by putting regular sugar in the blender/coffee grinder).
Peppermint extract
Chocolate chips or baking chocolate
Coconut oil or butter (optional)- and if you are only looking for as cheap as possible and don't mind feeding your family really unhealthy things, you can use shortening or margarine instead.

Instructions
1. Bake or microwave your small potato. Do not boil, as we need as little moisture in the potato as possible. Alternatively, prepare your mashed potatoes from potato flakes using as little water as possible. Let cool.

2. Add powdered sugar to your mashed potatoes. At first, the powdered sugar will appear to be making the mashed potatoes more liquidy, but keep on adding more and more powdered sugar until your mashed potatoes start thickening nicely. Add more and more powdered sugar until your dough is no longer sticky, and instead has the texture of clay.

3. Add peppermint extract and mix well. Taste; if it is minty enough, proceed to the next step. If not, add more mint until you get the precise flavor you want.

4. Make round balls of the dough in your hand and press them down to make thin patties. I found that I got the best results by putting the balls on parchment paper, covering them with another layer of parchment paper, and pressing down on the lot with a heavy book, or something else large, flat, and non flimsy.

5. Lay out the patties to dry. Depending on how dry you want your peppermint patties, let them dry for more or less time. I prefer mine dryer, so I let mine dry overnight, but a few hours is also ok. Turn over your patties part way through the drying time so the back can dry as well.

6. In a microwave safe bowl or double boiler, melt your chocolate chips or baking chocolate. To cut the price, you can add some coconut oil or butter to the chocolate to stretch the chocolate further. To avoid compromising on the taste, make sure to have at least twice as much chocolate as fats.

7. Dip your peppermint patties into the chocolate and lay out on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to dry.

8. When you first start dipping your mints into the chocolate, your chocolate will be hotter, runnier, and thinner, and the layer of chocolate you get might be very thin, as in the picture above. If this happens, just re-dip into the chocolate once the first layer hardens.

9. Taste test a few to make sure they're perfect, and if there are any left, store in the fridge or freezer until using.

P.S. This recipe works out much cheaper for me than it would for others, as I used all bulk bought ingredients, from instant mashed potatoes to chocolate chips to coconut oil to powdered sugar. This recipe is cheap regardless, but bulk buying really pays off with things like this.

What is your favorite chocolate combination? Do you like mint and chocolate as much as I do?Would you make these peppermint patties?

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Hello there! I'm Penny, author of Penniless Foodie in the Wild, an adaptable cookbook for frugal people like myself who like to eat great food. I'm a mom of four who loves to blog about how to have the best life possible while living on a relatively low income. We're a "crunchy", gluten-free family, homeschooling, homebirthing, autism, natural parenting family.I'm always happy to receive emails from readers at pennilessparenting@yahoo.com.

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